Freak hail stones the size of eggs have killed 22 people and injured 200 in China's central Henan province, local media reports say.

Hail facts

The largest can weigh a little under 1 kg and fall at more than 50 metres per second

Hail storms can devastate entire fields of crops in a few minutes

The biggest hailstones in the world tend to fall in north-east India

In Britain there were last hailstorms with tennis ball-size hail stones in Wokingham in 1959

Trees were uprooted, vehicles damaged and power supplies disrupted by winds gusting up to over 70 km/h in the central province of Henan.
Most of the deaths came when buildings in the northern town of Zhengzhou collapsed, including a petrol station.

In the neighbouring village of Yilin, a cattle feed factory collapsed killing four, the Beijing
Youth Daily reported.

Hospitals were overcrowded with victims suffering from injuries caused by the hailstones and by flying debris.

Failed warning

The Henan Province Meteorological Station said it had issued a severe weather warning, but it had failed to reach the public in time.

"We said there would be a thunderstorm. It's difficult to predict hail," said station manager Gu Wanlong.